Teaching German

Israel's Moon Moment

Opinion: Israel is playing politics on the moon

Whether it lands or crashes, Israel's Beresheet moon mission can only score big, politically, says DW's Zulfikar Abbany, as space becomes one of the most competitive domains next to land, air and sea.

Perhaps it's a measure of the significance of Israel's first moon mission that I feel an urge to start by saying I grew up in a very Jewish area in North London in the UK. More than that, in fact, I grew up happily in a Jewish area, son of a German woman and a Kenyan-Asian man. We were all immigrants in the neighborhood, and we all got along.

If I may, I'll follow that almost entirely meaningless comment with another: Some of my best friends are Jewish. Horrible cliché that it is, and usually only deployed to preface some form of discrimination… some of my best friends are German, black, women, disabled, hermaphrodite, lesbian, autistic, neurotic bisexual, emo gamers but… We lost touch, somewhere over Sunday lunch and the swings at Shirehall Park.

But. But. But.

If growing up in Hendon taught me anything — apart from the fact that there was a far less febrile time when Jews and "Gentiles" got along better than they seemingly do today in that area (almost every non-Jewish family has left) — it's that few things exist in the Israeli and/or Jewish context that are not religious and/or political.

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What is the usual distance between satellites?

What is the usual distance between satellites?

Back then it was about the Cold War and a military race between the USA and Soviet Russia. Although the international Outer Space Treaty, signed just two years before Neil Armstrong's giant leap, prohibits military activity in space, the science behind the rockets for space exploration is essentially the same as the science for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

SpaceIL, the company behind Beresheet, can say all it likes about its mission to inspire Israelis to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers — and some may genuinely believe it — but that in itself is a political act.

It's military because SpaceIL, which sells itself as a "non-profit," has teamed up with Israel Aerospace Industries, a for-profit company with experience in land and naval defense, cyber and homeland security.

But there's also the following… gut feeling.

The Beresheet spacecraft and lander orbited the Earth a number of time to gain enough speed for its trip to the moon

Now this is where I'll have to call on my underdeveloped sense of sensitivity, but I'll give it a go. Israel is no stranger to flexing its military muscles in the Middle East. Even as a peacenik (no hippie, mind), I can see how Israel feels a need to defend itself, no matter how you feel about Israel's own indiscretions in the region.

So what better way to show you mean business to a near-neighbor, such as Iran, who wants to see your nation state destroyed, than by blasting a rocket to the moon?

It's like Crocodile Dundee in the 1980s film of the same name disarming a mugger in New York with the words: "That's not a knife. This is a knife!"

As the name implies, Beresheet is just the beginning. Literally. It is Hebrew for "in the beginning," the first word in the first chapter of the Torah, a Jewish scripture. It is the veritable "Genesis" of Israel's spacefaring ambitions, and it comes at a time of incredible political significance.

Bully for Ben

Not only has Israel sought and received highly-contested support from the USA — namely, Washington's recognition of both Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the Golan Heights as Israeli sovereignty — but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also just been elected for a fifth term.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a smile that can only get bigger — Beresheet succeeds or not.

Well, you may say "bully for Ben." And, sure, these are all wins for Netanyahu.

But they won't be without risk — the first of which concerns Netanyahu's own political future. Having a moon landing to launch a second decade in office (since reelection in 2009) seems like a pretty good start, especially when your government didn't pay for it. But where to from there?

It will land at Mare Serenitatis, an historic lunar site. At its southeastern border, the Sea of Serenity lies close to Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility"). That's where Apollo 11 landed in 1969 — a moment of huge significance for America as a whole, and specifically for the new US president, Richard Nixon.

Nixon inherited America's space ambitions from the young and popular, assassinated president, John F. Kennedy, seven months before the landing.

Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted an American flag on the moon, the USA "won" the space race, and Nixon's term was set. He then presided over a successful Apollo program before killing it in 1973. He approved an US-Soviet space collaboration. But he was not reelected.

Hot on Netanyahu's heels: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted recently about his country's anti-satellite rocket capabilities — it shot one of its own satellites down

Israel's time?

Fifty years after the 1969 moon landing, Beresheet will leave a time capsule on the moon, containing Israel's Declaration of Independence, the Bible, the Hatikvah — Israel's national anthem — an Israeli flag, a Hebrew Traveler's Prayer, various bits-and-bobs of human knowledge and culture, and notably… photos of Israel's landscapes.

I wonder how Jerusalem and the Golan Heights figure in the latter.

Just saying. But for a reason.

Space exploration has changed immensely since 1969. But once again, it's a highly competitive field, and increasingly commercialized and militarized. Along with cyberspace, space itself has become one of the raciest domains next to air, land and sea.

It will be the politics of human nature writ large, in the heavens. Individual countries and companies will lay claims where they have no claims. And only few, if any, will truly come together — unless it suits them politically.

A history of the Middle East peace process

UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967

United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed on November 22, 1967, called for the exchange of land for peace. Since then, many of the attempts to establish peace in the region have referred to 242. The resolution was written in accordance with Chapter VI of the UN Charter, under which resolutions are recommendations, not orders.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Camp David Accords, 1978

A coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, fought Israel in the Yom Kippur or October War in October 1973. The conflict eventually led to the secret peace talks that yielded two agreements after 12 days. This picture from March 26, 1979, shows Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, his US counterpart Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after signing the accords in Washington.

A history of the Middle East peace process

The Madrid Conference, 1991

The US and the former Soviet Union came together to organize a conference in the Spanish capital city of Madrid. The discussions involved Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestinians — not from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) — who met with Israeli negotiators for the first time. While the conference achieved little, it did create the framework for later, more productive talks.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Oslo I Accord, 1993

The negotiations in Norway between Israel and the PLO, the first direct meeting between the two parties, resulted in the the Oslo I Accord. The agreement was signed in the US in September 1993. It demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank and Gaza and a self-governing, interim Palestinian authority be set up for a five-year transitional period. A second accord was signed in 1995.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Camp David Summit Meeting, 2000

US President Bill Clinton invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to the retreat in July 2000 to discuss borders, security, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem. Despite the negotiations being more detailed than ever before, no agreement was concluded. The failure to reach a consensus at Camp David was followed by renewed Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada.

A history of the Middle East peace process

The Arab Peace Initiative, 2002

The Camp David negotiations were followed first by meetings in Washington and then in Cairo and Taba, Egypt — all without results. Later the Arab League proposed the Arab Peace Initiative in Beirut in March 2002. The plan called on Israel to withdraw to pre-1967 borders so that a Palestinian state could be set up in the West Bank and Gaza. In return, Arab countries would agree to recognize Israel.

A history of the Middle East peace process

The Roadmap, 2003

The US, EU, Russia and the UN worked together as the Middle East Quartet to develop a road map to peace. While Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas accepted the text, his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon had more reservations with the wording. The timetable called for a final agreement on a two-state solution to be reached in 2005. Unfortunately, it was never implemented.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Annapolis, 2007

In 2007 US President George W. Bush hosted a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to relaunch the peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas took part in talks with officials from the Quartet and over a dozen Arab states. It was agreed that further negotiations would be held with the goal of reaching a peace deal by the end of 2008.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Washington, 2010

In 2010, US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to and implement a ten-month moratorium on settlements in disputed territories. Later, Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all issues. Negotiations began in Washington in September 2010, but within weeks there was a deadlock.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Cycle of escalation and ceasefire continues

A new round of violence broke out in and around Gaza late 2012. A ceasefire was reached between Israel and those in power in the Gaza Strip, which held until June 2014. The kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014 resulted in renewed violence and eventually led to the Israeli military operation Protective Edge. It ended with a ceasefire on August 26, 2014.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Paris summit, 2017

Envoys from over 70 countries gathered in Paris, France, to discuss the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu slammed the discussions as "rigged" against his country. Neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives attended the summit. "A two-state solution is the only possible one," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said at the opening of the event.

A history of the Middle East peace process

Deteriorating relations in 2017

Despite the year's optimistic opening, 2017 brought further stagnation in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A deadly summer attack on Israeli police at the Temple Mount, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims, sparked deadly clashes. Then US President Donald Trump's plan to move the embassy to Jerusalem prompted Palestinian leader Abbas to say "the measures ... undermine all peace efforts."